Underground passage forming apparatus



Jail. 17, G KULL UNDERGROUND PASSAGE FORMING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 9,1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 .imlzwfr/y G. KULL UNDERGROUND PASSAGE FORMINGAPPARATUS Filed Oct. 9, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet United States Patent O k3,298,448 UNDERGROUND PASSAGE FORMING APPARATUS Gustav Kull, SacredHeart, Minn. 56285 Filed Oct. 9, 1964, Ser. No. 402,765 Claims. (Cl.175-19) This invention relates to an apparat-us of extremely simpleconstruction which may be readily operated by one man to form a passage-u-nder a sidewalk, driveway or roadway through which wires, such astelephone wires, or small pipe may be passed without Idisturbing thesidewalk, roadway or driveway.

In the laying of underground wiring or small pipe, it is customary toutilize a trenchinlg machine which digs a trench approximately threeinches wide and thirtythree to thirty-six inches deep. However, uponreaching a sidewalk or roadway and to avoid cutting a trenchtherethrough, it is necessary to laterally enlarge the trenchsufficiently 4to lform :a manhole in which a man can work while forciblydriving a rod through the earth under the sidewalk or -roadway to an endof a trench at the opposite side of the sidewalk or roadway.

The present invention provides an apparatus of extremely simpleconstruction which can be utilized with the aforementioned trencher forforcibly driving a rod o-r the like under the sidewalk or roadway andwithout enlarging the trench.

A further object of the invention is t-o provide an apparat-us, which-in addition to forcibly driving a passage forming member through theearth under the sidewalk or roadway, may also be utilized for pullingwiring or pipe through the passage formed thereby.

Various other objects and :advantages of the invention will hereinaiterbecome more fully apparent from the following description of thedrawings, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, andwherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing the passageforming apparatus in an operative position;

FIGUR-E 2 is an end elevational view thereof substantially along theline 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a-n elongated fragmentary vertical sectional view, partly inside elevation, taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view through a part oftheapparatus, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 44of FIGUR'E 3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged .fragment-ary sectional view taken substantially.along a plane as indicated by the line 5-5 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged yfragmentary view of a part of the passagelforming element, shown partly in section, and

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view, partly in elevation and partlyin section, o-f another part of said passage forming element.

Refer-ring more specifically to the drawings, the underground passageforming apparatus in its entirety and comprising the invention isdesignated generally 10, and includes a frame 11 formed of rigid tubingof rectangular or square cross section, .as seen in FIGURE 4, and whichincludes a bottom portion 12 and an upright portion 13. The portion 13extends upwardly 4from one end of the portion 12 and is disposed at aright angle thereto. A diagonal brace 14 extends between parts of theframe portions 12 and 13 and is secured thereto by suitable fastenings15.

As seen in FIGURE 3, a bushing -1-6 is secured in any conventionalmanner in a rear end of the .frame portion 12 whi-ch is located remotefrom Ithe upright frame por- 31,298,448 Patented Jan. 17, 1967 ice tion13, and a bushing 17 is secured, as by a screw faste-ning v18, Kin theother forward en-d of the bott-om frame portion 12. A rod 19 has endportions journalled in the bushings 16 and 17. Collars 20 are secured tothe rod 19 and abut adjacent inner ends of the bushings 16 and 17. Aforward end of the -rod 19 extends from the forward end of the bushing17 a-nd has a small sprocket wheel 21 xed thereto. A portion of the rod19 disposed between the collars 20 is threaded, as seen at 22. A block23, forming a nut, ts slidably and non-rotatably in the frame part 12,as seen in FIGURE 4, and has a threaded bore 24 through which the rodportion 22 extends and in which said rod por-tion threadedly engages.The block 23 has a bore 25, disposed above an-d parallel to the :bore24, in which an end of. `a rod 26 is secured by ia fastening `27. Therod 26 extends rearwardly from the block 23 through the frame part 12and through a Iguide bore 28 in the upper part of the bushing 16.

A stu-b shaft 29 is journalled in the upper part of the fram-e member 13and has a large sprocket wheel 30 fixed thereto. The sprocket wheel 30is disposed at the forward side of the frame portion 13 in verticalalignment with the sprocket wheel 21, and ia handwheel or other suitabletorque imparting means 31 is fixed to the forwar-d end of the shaft 29and is disposed Iforwardly of the sprocket wheel 30. An endless chain 32-is trained around the sprocket wheels 21 and 30` .for rotating theshaft 19 when the handwheel is manually turned.

A guide tube 32 is secured in any conventional manner to the undersideof the frame portion .12 and has bushings 33 andr34 secured in the endsthereof to slidably receive and guide a passage forming member 35, corn-Iposed of a rod section 36 and one or more rod sections 37. The forwardor leading section 36 has a pointed forward end 39 and a transverse bore40` located adjacent thereto. The rear end of the section 36 terminatesin a threaded stem 41 of reduced cross sectional size `f-or attachmentinto a threaded socket 42 in the forward end of one of the sections 37,.as seen in FIGURE 6. The sections 36 and 37 are of the same externalsize in cross section :and each section 37 has a threaded socket -42 atits :forward end and a stem 43 at its rear end, corresponding with thestem 41. As seen in FIGURE 3, the forward section 36 has a porti-onthereof extending ith-rough the Iforward -guide bushing 33 with itsforward end shown disposed forwardly of said rguide bushing. The stem 41of the forward section 36 is c-onnected to the socket 42 of aforwardm-ost section 37 within the guide tube 32, and said section 37extends through the rear guide bushing 34 :and through a sleeve member44 which is shown disposed behind and spaced .from the rear end of thetube 32. Sleeve member 44 has an opstanding forward portion 45 in whichthe rear end of the rod 26 is secured by a fastening 46. A -set screw 47-is carried by the sleeve 44 for ladjustably securing said sleeve to thepassage forming member 35. A stake 52 is iixed to and exten-dsdownwardly from the forward end of the tube 32. The stra-ke is ofsubstantial width in a direction crosswise of the tube.

A trench 48 is shown dug into the earth 49 at one side of la sidewalk orroadway 50 and another trench 51 is shown extending up to the other sideof the walk or roadway 50. The trenches 48 and 51 are disposed inalignment with one another, and are adapted to be dug with aconventional trenching machine, not shown, which digs a trench.approximately three inches wide `and thirty-three to thirty-six inchesdeep, as seen in FIGURE 2. The trenches 43 and 51 are provided forlaying underground wiring, such as telephone wiring, o-r small pipe. Thepassage forming .apparatus is applied to the trench 48, as seen inFIGURES 1 and 3, with the tube 32 resting on the bed of the trench andthe upright frame portion 13 extending upwardly, in [close proximity toan end of the trench adjacent the edge of the walk or roadway 50i, andit will be understood that the upright 13 is of sufficient length toIlocate the handwheel 31 at a convenient level above the lsidewalk o-rroadway 50. With the sleeve 44 secured to the rod section 37 by the setscrew 47, the handwheel 31 is rotated in a direction to turn the rod 19so that the block 23 will be moved forward toward the bushing 17, tocause the passage forming member 35 to be forcibly advanced in the samedi-rection, from left to right of FIG- URES 1 and 3, axially through theguide tube 32, so that its leading pointed end 39 will be driven throughthe earth 49 between the bottoms of the adjacent ends of the trenches 4Sand 51. The stake 52 will hold the apparatus against displacement in theopposite direction or from right to left of FIGURES 1 and 3. After thesleeve 44 has moved up to adjacent the rear ends of the'tube 32 and theframe section 12, the set screw 47 is loosened and the handwheel isrevolved in the opposite direction to move the block 23 from right toleft of FIGURE 3 toward the bushing 16, as the sleeve 44 slides in thesame direction on the passage forming member 35. If necessary, anothersectionv37 can be added to receive the sleeve 44 as it is moved -to theleft of FIGURE 3. The set screw 47 is then re-tightened for securing thesleeve 44 to the member 35 after which the operation, previouslydescribed, is repeated, for forcing the leading end 39 further throughthe earth, and this operation can be repeated until the leading end 39enters the trench 51, as seen in dotted lines in FIGURE l.

A line 53 may be attached to the member 35 through its bore 40 beforethe member is forced through the earth, as previously described, andunfastened therefrom and held in the trench 51 while the member 35 isretracted back to its position, as seen in full lines of FIGURE 3; orthe line 53 may be attached to the member 35 after it has enteredtheptrench 51 and drawn back with said member through the lpassageformed thereby. The line 53 is thereafter utilized for pulling wiring orpiping, not shown, through the passage formed under the sidewalk orroadway 50. It will be obvious that the handwheel is turned to rotatethe shaft 19 in a direction for moving the block 23 from right to leftof FIGURE 3 and for drawing the member 35 back through the passage withthe sleeve 44 readjusted on said member 35 as is required.

Should an obstruction exist where the handwheel 31 is located above thesidewalk or roadway 50, the apparatus 10 may be reversed from itsposition in FIGURES 1 and 3 and the passage forming member 35 reversedin the tube 32. The member 35 would then be pushed by the sleeve 44being forced away from the frame member 12 and tube 32 for driving theleading end 39 through the earth between the ditches 48 and 51. It willbe readily apparent that the tube 32 with its bushings 33 and 34 willeifectively function to prevent buckling of the Vmember 35 as it isadvanced through the earth.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may be resortedto without departing from the function or scope of the invention ashereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. An underground passage forming apparatus comprising a -rigid frameincluding a bottom portion and an upright portion rising from saidbottom portion, a lead screw extending longitudinally through andjournaled in said bottom portion, a member slidably and non-rotatablyconnected to said bottom portion and threadedly engaging said leadscrew, a guide disposed beneath and secured t-o said bottom portion, anelongated passage forming member extending slidably through said guide,a clamp detachably secured to said passage forming member beyond one endof said bottom portion and one end of said guide, means rigidlyconnecting said clam-p to said member, and manually actuated meanssupported by an upper part of said upright frame portion and connectedto said lead screw for revolving the screw in either direction formoving the passage forming member in either direction in unison withsaid member and clamp for propelling the passage forming member throughsaid guide and away from one end thereof.

2. An underground passage forming apparatus as in claim 1, and ananchoring stake fixed to and extending downwardly from said guide andadapted to be imbedded in the earth for retaining the apparatus againstmovement in the opposite direction to the direction in which the passageforming member is propelled.

3. An apparatus as in claim 1, said passage forming member being formedof threadedly connected sections.

4. An underground passage forming apparatus comprising a rigid framehaving a bottom portion adapted to be disposed in a trench and anupright portion rising from said bottom portion `adapted to be locatedadjacent an end of the trench, an elongated guide secured ybeneath andlongitudinally of said bottom portion, an elongated rigid passageforming member extending slidably through said guide, la clampdetachably secured to said passage forming member beyond and spaced froman end of said bott-om portion and from an end of the guide, thrustimparting means contained in said bottom portion including a partslidably and non-rotatably iconnected to said bottom portion and a leadscrew extending threadedly through said part and journaled in saidbottom portion, means rigidly connecting said part to the clamp, andmanually actuated means supported by an upper part of said uprightportion and adapted t-o be located above the trench and connected tosaid lead screw for rotating said screw in either direction forimparting a thrust in either direction to said part and to the clamp formoving the passage forming member in either direction through the guide.

5. An underground passage forming apparatus as in claim 4, said manuallyactuated means including a handwheel rotatably supported on the uprightportion and -a sprocket wheel and chain drive connecting said handwheelto said lead screw.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 740,521 10/1903Brown 175-19 1,498,062 6/1924 Albaugh 254-29 1,916,466 7/1933 Eckles254-29 2,519,680 8/1950 Macumber 175-19 X CHARLES E. OCONNELL, PrimaryExaminer.

- N. C. BYERS, Assistant Examiner,

1. AN UNDERGROUND PASSAGE FORMING APPARATUS COMPRISING A RIGID FRAMEINCLUDING A BOTTOM PORTION AND AN UPRIGHT PORTION RISING FROM SAIDBOTTOM PORTION, A LEAD SCREW EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY THORUGH ANDJOURNALLED IN SAID BOTTOM PORTION, A MEMBER SLIDABLY AND NON-ROTATABLYCONNECTED TO SAID BOTTOM PORTION AND THREADEDLY ENGAGING SAID LEADSCREW, GUIDE DISPOSED BENEATH AND SECURED TO SAID BOTTOM PORTION, ANELONGATED PASSAGE FORMING MEMBER EXTENDING SLIDABLY THROUGH SAID GUIDE,A CLAMP DETACHABLY SECURED TO SAID PASSAGE FORMING MEMBER BEYOND ONE ENDOF SAID BOTTOM PORTION AND ONE END OF SAID GUIDE, MEANS RIGIDLYCONNECTING SAID CLASMP TO SAID MEMBER, AND MANUALLY ACTUATED MEANSSUPPORTED BY AN UPPER PART OF SAID UPRIGHT FRAME PORTION AND CONNECTEDTO SAID LEAD SCREW FOR REVOLVING THE SCREW IN EITHER DIRECTION FORMOVING THE PASSAGE FORMING MEMBER IN EITHER DIRECTION IN UNISON WITHSAID MEMBER AND CLAMP FOR PROPELLING THE PASSAGE FORMING MEMBER THROUGHSAID GUIDE AND AWAY FROM ONE END THEREOF.